This invention relates to disposable shoecovers. More particularly it relates to shoecovers for use by medical personnel or workers in clean rooms or those handling hazardous substances.
In hospital operating rooms and other places where surgical procedures are carried out, it is critical to maintain as sterile an environment as possible in order to prevent infections in the patient and healthcare workers. One area of particular concern in the operating room is the floor of the room. Operating room floors are designed with very smooth surfaces which helps reduce bacteria growth and accumulation of dirt, blood and other body fluids. The floor is usually washed with disinfectant after every procedure. Even though the floor is not considered a "sterile area," it can be a source of contamination. The floor can be contaminated by hospital workers walking into the room with personal shoes not being covered. Likewise hospital workers' shoes can be a transmitter of contamination to other departments of the hospital if they are not changed.
In order to overcome this problem, healthcare professionals have recommended the use of protective shoecovers, most of which are disposable. The shoecovers arc put on in an area adjacent the operating room.
Normally a shoecover is made of a spunbonded polypropylene or similar nonwoven material which impedes bacteria migration and other contamination. Thus a shoecover will protect the operating room and also will protect the user's shoes.
Because the operating room floor is kept so smooth and clean, and because of fluids on the floor, it has been found that users of the disposable shoecovers often slip on the floor. This slipping problem is not only a hazard for the wearer but also for the patient because the slipping may distract the operating room team while performing the surgical procedure.
There have been various attempts to solve the slipping problem associated with the disposable shoecovers. In some cases the bottoms of the shoecovers have been coated with a material which has a higher coefficient of friction than spunbonded polypropylene. Various patterns have been printed on the bottoms of the shoecovers for gripping the floor better.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,485 issued to Chun-Chuan Joe and Fa-Chang Joe shows a rubber rib glued in the seam which runs along the bottom of a shoecover. While it is believed that the purpose of the rubber rib is to enable the shoecover to be "one size fits all" it is possible that the rib may provide some anti-skid properties. While all of these constructions represent an improvement over a shoecover which is made purely of spunbonded polypropylene the problem of slipping remains and the cost of producing these modified shoecovers has increased.